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The GQ 100: The Best Suit Shops in America

Doesn’t matter if you’re buying your first suit or your fiftieth—going to see the right salesmen at the right shop is crucial to finding the right one for you. With this list, we’ve covered all the angles: Affordable-suit superstores. Italian-suit specialists. Nearby department stores that can actually help you look GQ as hell. The beauty of buying the right suit is that, once it’s been tailored to your body, you’ll always look great in it—and you’ll never have to think about it again

Sid Mashburn

Atlanta

By the time you walk out of Sid Mashburn's game-changing flagship store in Atlanta—or his new outposts in Houston, Washington, D.C., or Dallas—a couple things will have happened. Whatever jacket you wore into the store will have been hung up and lint-rolled by a young man in a death-defyingly sharp suit. You'll have discovered a life-changing LP from 1969 by Gram Parson's Flying Burrito Brothers. You'll finally understand what the hell "full canvassing" means when it comes to suit jackets. You'll have learned the subtle difference between a dress shirt and a sport shirt. You'll know who the Bulldogs are playing on Saturday afternoon. And you'll probably have bought a pair of midnight blue Levi's 501s ($65) and a graph-check broadcloth dress shirt ($145) and left them both with the store's in-house tailor so they can be customized for the peculiarities of your body. Sid Mashburn is a clothing store, yes, but it's also a cathedral of style—a place where the suit is holy, service is sacred, and community is practiced and built. Frankly, gentlemen's stores like this were supposed to be extinct, but Sid resurrected the format and—just as crucially—updated it for the modern era. Mashburn is a god-fearing Southern man, but he's got a mischievous twinkle in his eye, longer slicked-back hair, and an off-kilter twist in his tie. Likewise, his self-titled line of Italian-made suits, shirts, ties, dress shoes, and accessories features classics with a loose, rebellious edge. He is not scared of tie-dye, or red pants, or floral prints. You will be encouraged to try a buttery pair of Chelsea boots with a suit (see: The Beatles and Bob Dylan). In fact, the whole reason that this man sits atop our list of the best independent men’s stores in the country is because one trip here can change the way you dress for good. There’s proof: Mashburn has built a whole culture of well-tailored cool in Atlanta (where there was none before), and if anyone can start a style movement in the anti-style capital known as Washington, D.C., it’s this guy. Hold tight for a minute, and he might even reweave the fabric of American menswear more broadly as he expands to New York, California, and wherever it is you’re sitting right now.—Will Welch

1198 Howell Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30318

New York City

Fashion is as global as any business on earth, and while that's not always such a good thing, it's a great thing in this narrow New York store that specializes in fine tailored clothing with a distinct sense of attention-grabbing sprezzatura. To wit: The Armoury is located in downtown Manhattan's TriBeCa neighborhood. The original flagship store is in Hong Kong. And the Ring Jacket, the store's exquisitely fitting core suit, is designed and made in Japan. Yet the look of that suit, from the soft shoulders to the selection of fabrics, is explicitly inspired by southern Italy. And as soon as you walk into this place, which opened in 2013, you can feel that global sensibility—and practically hear the sound of dollars being converted to euros being converted to yen. As such, it's a customer with a high-flying, SkyMiles-accruing, cosmopolitan business baller edge (and his made-to-measure sizes on file) who will really have his mind blown and his wardrobe overhauled at this shop. How? By the seven-fold ties from Tie Your Tie (Italy). And the Carmina suede cap-toe shoes (Majorca). And the Nomos Glashütte watches (Germany). And the Drake’s pocket squares (England). Hell, you can buy an umbrella here that will make you look like the kind of guy who is always having extra pages added to his passport. But the best part of all? That brilliantly fitting suit we mentioned—the Ring Jacket—goes for $1,500 bucks, which means you pay Economy Comfort cash for Million-Mile Club tailoring.—Will Welch

168 Duane Street, New York, NY 10013

Nationwide

You know what would make buying a first suit better? If you could make the process more like buying your fifth suit, or your fiftieth. If you could make it an enjoyable and affordable experience rather than a stilted, awkward, and expensive one. So here’s a thought experiment: How might you go about doing that? Well, you’d push the crusty salesman who wants to get guys wearing his 44 extra-long into a well-earned retirement, and replace him with a guy who dresses the way we all wish we could. You’d keep the classic navy and gray, sure, but you’d add soft Italian flannel and double-breasted cuts. Pattern. Color. You'd shut off the fluorescent lights and never turn them back on, and you’d make the joint feel sort of like the Bat Cave—only with suits, and maybe some whiskey. And then you’d endeavor to open one in every major city in America. And if you managed to do all this? Well, then you’d be Suitsupply, the Dutch company that’s made it unbelievably easy to buy a suit—first, fifteenth, or fiftieth.—Sam Schube

453 Broome Street, New York, NY 10013

Birmingham

All across the South, gentlemen are still expected to have a few key pieces in their wardrobes. We’re talking Oxford shirts. Penny loafers. Polos. A few dandyish suits. Basically, the kind of timeless clothes that could seamlessly swing from a job interview to an SEC tailgate. Harrison Limited, in the toney burbs of Birmingham, is one of the (surprisingly) few haberdasheries that still sells all this stuff—and that does it in a modern way, so you don’t feel like you’re dressing up as Strom Thurmond. There’s a full-time tailoring squad on the premises, which means everything you buy should leave the store fitting you perfectly. And when people comment on how good you look, which they will, you’ll keep coming back. And so will your son—and god willing, his son. Style like this leaves a legacy.—Nick Marino

2801 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook, AL 35223

Beverly Hills

The suiting desert that is Los Angeles finally gets a cup of water now that Naples-based Isaia has planted its first U.S. flag in Beverly Hills. Located in an ivy-covered corner building one block west of Rodeo Drive, the store moves classic tailoring into the modern era by treating the space like a design gallery rather than another stodgy suit shop. A bold red chandelier by Jacopo Foggini, Arne Jacobsen Swan chairs (also red), and a lacquer piano (guess what color) stand out in the white-and-plum-walled space. But even impressive works of art can’t compete with the tailored clothing in this shop. The soft-shouldered suits, the elegant collared shirts in sorbet colors, and the handmade silk ties in every pattern are the real stars here, and the open layout invites shoppers to get up close to each. So try a boldly patterned jacket—and stop by the in-shop Campari bar if you need a little liquid courage.—Sam Schube

9527 Brighton Way, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

New York City

Nominated by actor and Mr. Robot star Rami Malek: “Brian, Matt, and Co. have a keen eye and exceptional taste. They know what’s fashionable without being too trendy. Most everything in this store are pieces you would keep coming back to again and again—like anything you get there will be just as stylish and cool ten years down the road.”

63 Crosby Street, New York, NY 10012

New York City

The great joy of Miller’s Oath is that you can’t tell what year it is when you step inside. Maybe it’s 1906, the year proprietor Kirk Miller’s great-grandfather opened a clothing shop in South Dakota. (Hence the subtle pickaxe logo.) Or perhaps it’s 1880's London: Miller's signature suit’s single-button jacket with stiffer-than-usual shoulders mark a semi-radical break with contemporary notions of how a suit should fit. Or maybe it’s the 1950s, somewhere in the kindhearted Midwest: Miller runs the place himself, he’s usually the guy who picks up the phone, and he’s the one proffering a glass of whiskey when you come in for a fitting. (Last year, Miller added a ready-to-wear line in addition to the bespoke suits and shirts he’s best known for). And in 2030, we’ll probably all be wearing Miller’s signature collar, a superspread cutaway that’s rounded like a club, the perfect midpoint between starchy and slouchy. Or maybe it really is 2015, which is the only year a place as idiosyncratic—and as delightful—as Miller’s Oath could ever exist.—Sam Schube

510 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013

Nationwide

Judging by the headlines on CNNMoney or whatever, 2015 was not a banner year for J.Crew. Sales slumped and profits apparently submarined, in part because the company stocked too many women’s Tilly sweaters and not enough women’s Tippi sweaters. (For shame!) But here at GQ, we’re not really interested in women’s cardigans or the corporation's P&L sheets. What we’re interested in is helping our readers look good in suits, and when it comes to that, the brand’s Ludlow Suit is still the MVP—the LeBron James of business attire and the Tom Brady of wedding season. So as long as the Ludlow program is thriving and the brand’s stores are keeping every American man within striking distance of a mall looking GQ as hell for well under a grand, then J.Crew will remain on this list—no matter what the headlines of the business section are saying.—John Jannuzzi

Chagrin Falls, OH

While Cleveland isn't exactly Paris on Lake Erie, it does happen to boast one of the best menswear shops in the United States. Opened in a historic landmark house in 1981, Cuffs sells everything a man needs—from Ralph Lauren socks to Kiton suits—under one roof. It's the type of place that gets passed from father to son and has remained true to the iconic, well-made things that never seem to become outdated. And Cuffs has a way of making an impression. In the 1980s, the Hermès family came to Chagrin Falls at the petition of the Cuffs owners, Patty and Rodger Kowall, and they liked the little town so much that Cuffs became one of the very few independent stores in the United States to have an Hermès shop-in-shop. Sounds like Cleveland is a little more Parisian than we thought.—Michael Williams

18 East Orange Street, Chagrin Falls, OH 44022

New York City

Kamakura’s NYC boutique isn’t necessarily tucked away—it’s on a fairly trafficked stretch of Madison Avenue—but every time you walk into the Japanese brand’s humble outpost, you can’t help but feel as though you’ve discovered it before anyone else. There are no artfully posed mannequins in the windows begging for a better look, no quarry’s worth of Italian marble inside to make you say, “This must be modern.” Instead, the shop is a refreshing exercise in understated—charming, even—simplicity that puts the focus right where it should be: the dress shirts. Two massive shelving units on either side of the store are stacked (perfectly, of course) with the brand’s excellent dress shirts that come available in four fits, with four types of collars, and all in a tightly edited mix of fabrics and patterns. With almost all of them coming in at under $80, too, the only problem you’ll have is leaving the shop with just one in your bag.—Matt Sebra

400 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017

New York City

If you’re the type of style-minded guy who obsesses over Pitti Uomo street-style snaps with the same focus as you do your fantasy-football league, then get to the sixth floor of the iconic retailer’s Fifth Avenue flagship in N.Y.C.—pronto. That’s where you’ll find a bounty of sprezzatura gear that includes racks of soft-shouldered suits and sport coats by top-tier Italian labels, including Kiton, Isaia, Brunello Cucinelli, and Ermenegildo Zegna. Plus a wardrobe’s worth of crisp collared shirts, handcrafted ties, and more than a few tasseled loafers to finish off every Florentine-inspired outfit.

The floor’s layout has more in common with an easy-to-shop supermarket (areas are arranged by brand or category) than an overly merchandised menswear boutique, so finding exactly what you’re looking for can be satisfyingly fast. And if you’re really in the mood—and of the budget—to swerve extra hard, check out the floor’s robust mix of made-to-measure offerings from the tailoring world’s most notable names (think Armani, Brioni, Canali).—Matt Sebra